Paternity and the Child Support Enforcement Prosecutor

What is a Prosecuting Attorney doing in a paternity case? That answer I cannot easily provide but I can try. From long before I was practicing (and I think long before I was born), the Indiana General Assembly legislated that the Prosecuting Attorney had a role to play in paternity cases.

The Indiana Code designates the local prosecuting attorney as a part who can file a paternity affidavit. Then prosecuting attorney must then represent the person for whom they file the paternity petition. (IC 31-14-4-2).

Federal law also applies here since the creation of the Title IV-D Court. This allows for the child support enforcement prosecutor to intervene in more than paternity cases. In Re: The paternity of A.M.P. (PDF format) has a good thumbnail sketch of the IV-D Court system. See pages 5- 6.